"I hate it. It's changed the game,"
Popovich said. "It makes it tougher to cover that much room
defensively on the court, so you do have to pay attention to it
defensively. It's a heck of a weapon. ... To me it's not
basketball but you've got to use it. If you don't, you're in big
trouble."

Popovich is right about the importance of the shot;
three-pointers are becoming a staple of NBA offenses, and players
are increasingly adding it to their offensive repetoire to help
spread the floor. Last season, only four playoff teams attempted
less than 1700 three-pointers during the regular season, and as
Tim Reynolds notes in his article, 10 of the 14 teams who made
less than 600 three-pointers didn't even make the playoffs.

Popovich may dislike the three-pointer, but he's smart enough to
understand the direction of the league and make it part of his
team's offense. It obviously has paid off.